Golfers, whether professional or amateur, all appreciate that one difficult aspect of the game of golf is the use of a putter which is typically employed on the green to propel a golf ball toward the target cup along the green surface. A typical putter is characterized by a ball-engaging face which is substantially upright at the instant when the stroke of the putter results in striking the ball. If the ball is reasonably squarely struck, the impulse is conveyed to the ball in such a manner that it can be represented by a generally horizontal line passing through or very near the center of the ball. As a result, and as is notoriously well-known by golfers, there is a natural tendency for the ball to initially simply slide along the surface of the green, gradually picking up forward rotation as result of frictional engagement between the surface of the ball and the green. For short putts, as when the ball lies near the cup, forward spin often has no chance to fully develop.
Golfers appreciate that a ball putted with initial slide is subject to slight, but not insubstantial, deviations from the desired path resulting from traversing minor imperfections in the green surface or even as a result of slight imperfections of the ball. These deviations are often sufficient to cause a surprisingly missed putt and are thus a source of frustration to the golfer, particularly one with sufficient skill that the putt would otherwise have been made. Further, if the ball has not picked up a full complement of forward spin by the time it reaches the cup, it will have less tendency to, in effect, pull itself into the cup as it engages the cup lip.
Thus, it will be appreciated that it would be highly desirable to provide a putter which imparts immediate forward spin on a golf ball as a consequence of the putting stroke in order to improve the accuracy of the path traversed from the lie of the ball toward the cup. Such immediate forward spin, if it can be imparted, would overcome the tendency of the ball, during the initial portion of its traverse, to deviate from the desired path as a result of slide. Further, there would be a not inconsequential gyroscopic effect which would further stabilize the course of the ball during the initial portion of its travel. For short putts, the deliberately imparted forward spin would also aid in pulling the ball into the cup.
Other problems associated with the use of conventional putters is the tendency of the putter to slightly pivot horizontally if the ball is not struck more or less in line with the center of gravity of the club head. As a result, the initial path of the ball deviates to the left or right of the intended path by a slight amount which, however, is not inconsequential and, again, results in unsatisfactory performance.
Another consideration to be dealt with is the material from which the head is made, the selection of which can affect the performance characteristics of the club.
It is to the solution of the problems associated with the initial sliding action of a ball immediately after a putting stroke and the effect of stroking the ball slightly off the center of gravity of the putter head that my invention is directed.